If you’re a virtual assistant who has come to view Clerical Advantage as a favorite resource site for the industry, you may have been a bit baffled lately.  On Black Friday, not only did the VA Survival Guide become unavailable for purchase, the VA Survival section of the blog was inaccessible as well.  What the heck?!

It’s not because I’m abandoning virtual assistants in search of help running their businesses. On the contrary, it’s because I wanted to focus a bit more on helping them.  As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m currently preparing for the launch of what I believe will be one of the most comprehensive and flexible training opportunities for virtual assistants anywhere.  So it just made sense that rather than continue to post virtual assistant survival tips on my business tips blog here, that I would move that aspect of the blog to Virtual Assistant Survival School.

So that’s what’s been done.  Right now there are just a few reprints of some of the most popular posts for virtual assistants from this blog, but you can expect lots of great new information to be popping up there on a regular basis.  And of course, Virtual Assistant Survival School with it’s learning courses and modules will be launching soon as well.

(Psst…interested in starting a business as a virtual assistant? There’s a special offer at the bottom of this post. If you’re the impatient sort you can click here.)

Do a search for ‘how to become a virtual assistant‘ and you’ll get a slew of information provided by a variety of sources from Entrepreneur .com to some obviously uninformed authors who are looking to increase traffic to their website by using a popular search term.  In fact, the search I did for this post 10 minutes ago returned over 5 million hits.  Sounds like an abundance of information available at your fingertips doesn’t it?

Sure.  That is if you want to spend thousands of hours sifting through tons of inaccurate information and just plain nonsense.  Oh and don’t forget, if you’re doing the search in the first place you most likely don’t know what is valid information and what’s not.  You could spend all of those hours only to find yourself  more confused that you were before you started reading.  Trust me, I know.

I hear from wanna-be, new and struggling virtual assistants and virtual paralegals every week wondering how in the world I built a successful business.

I started out like many of the rest of you, with perhaps two major exceptions.  One, I was unemployed and desperate.  And two, I had some experience running my own craft based business way back in the dark ages; otherwise known as my twenties.   The desperation gave me the motivation I needed to do the trial and error thing over and over and over again.  If something didn’t work, I had no choice but to try something else.  The craft business experience gave me a tiny bit of business owner knowledge of things like business structure, licensing and registration that I wouldn’t have had a clue about otherwise.  Truthfully, the desperation was a bigger benefit, but those two items are the only things I may have started out with that other virtual assistant wanna-bes  might not have the benefit of.

So how did I build a successful business?  And how do I keep it going and growing?  All of that trial and error.  4 years worth in fact.  And over those four years I’ve combined those hard knocks lessons, prior business experience, knowledge gained from several certificate courses ranging from writing to office procedures and my geek girl love and knowledge of technology to boil it all down to some tried and true strategies.

I’ve been successfully sharing my strategy for success with coaching clients for awhile now.  Every time I get an excited e-mail from one of them telling me how much their business is growing and how much smoother it’s running it makes me smile.  Big.

I like smiling.  So I wrote the VA Survival Guide to share some of my coaching strategies.  I started getting more e-mail from people who bought it which made me smile big more often.  Then someone told me I was being stingy. What?!?   I was only sharing a small part of what I taught my coaching clients in the eBook.  Umm, yeah, because putting everything into an eBook would make it overwhelming.  How many of us never read War & Peace because of its size right?  I didn’t mean to be stingy.  Honest.

That didn’t keep me from dwelling on the thought that I really did have a lot of information that could help  a lot of people that I wasn’t sharing .  It wiped the smile right off my face.  I knew then it was time to find a way to get the information out there.  It was time for Virtual Assistant Survival School.

Right now I’m working hard to get all of those great strategies that have worked for my business, the businesses of coaching clients and VA Survival Guide readers ready for launch.  It will include information for starting a virtual professional business, actually doing business successfully and branching out beyond your scope of services.   Awesome right?  Want to know something even more awesome?  I’ve worked really hard to make sure you can get access to the information you need to become successful.

That means that you have a bunch of options when it comes to enrollment.  If you’re just starting out and you want all of the information you can enroll for the entire program.  Already past the start up phase?  You can enroll  in just the course or courses that apply.  Don’t really need an entire course?  Enroll in just the modules you want.

That’s flexibility that you’re not going to get just anywhere.

And speaking of flexibility, each module gives you options of how you want your information presented to you.  Video, audio and eBooks are included in every learning module.

This isn’t a membership program, once you’ve enrolled that material is available to you. Period.  Plus there will be special events like interviews with some of my super hero  mentors and informational webinars and seminars on subjects to help you boost your business.   Not to mention the Bonus Modules, additional courses on subjects like building your virtual professional website.

And it will all be launching very soon.  (Don’t want to miss the launch? Click Here.)  Excited yet? 

Do you have questions about Virtual Assistant Survival School?  Do you have something you really want to learn about?  Ask questions and find out if your request for info could be turned into a module by commenting below.

As if there wasn’t enough confusion out there regarding virtual assistants, along comes the iPhone 4S.  The S, I’m guessing, stands for Apple’s version of a virtual assistant and ‘her’ name is Siri.  Articles and blog posts have been singing her praises, absolutely amazed at the way she answers their questions and requests.  I suppose some virtual assistants might  be irritated.  After all, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to distinguish ourselves as high level professional administrative support and now a scrap of artificial intelligence gets added to an iPhone and appears to muddle the issue once again.

Or not.  I think it’s a chance to set ourselves apart even further.  

Siri is artificial intelligence and as such is limited by both the questions asked of her and the answers her developers programmed into her.  As  helpful as she may be  and as witty as some of her responses may appear, she can’t think for herself.  Nor does she possess creativity and initiative.  There are just some things that you’re never going to get from a programmed piece of software that you get from a living, breathing, thinking human being.

While Siri may return the three closest locksmiths to you when you’ve locked yourself out, she isn’t going to call them for you, explain your situation, get price quotes and send the best deal to your door.  She may give you directions to the hotel you’re booked at, but she isn’t going to be able to call the hotel  and set up the shuttle service to pick you up at the airport when your flight arrives.

Siri holds no loyalty to you or your business.  Or anyone else’s for that matter.  She’s simply not real.

Although I don’t have Siri, or even an iPhone, I’m pretty sure she’s not capable of pulling your PowerPoint presentation together.   Blog assistance, e-book creation and website creation aren’t on her list of services either.   Sometimes as fallible as we humans can be, the human touch is just what we need most.

Rather than  be irritated by Siri, I’m embracing her.  She’s giving me a great way to set myself apart.  You see, when a potential client mentions her in the same breath as me and my services I have the perfect response.

“No, I’m not Siri.  I’m so much better than that.”

P.S. As of this writing Siri is still considered beta.  I’m not.

I’ve had a lot of small business people who need help with their business tell me that my rates were too high.  Heck, I’ve even had a person or two tell me I was crazy to charge that much when anyone can go to one of the freelance websites and find an army of virtual assistants charging much, much less.   They have a right to their opinion of course, but it’s funny how many of those same people are contacting me again a few months later with tales of virtual assistant collaborations gone bad.

To save yourself the time, money and headaches here are two things you should think about when a virtual assistant quotes rates below $30 an hour:

How many other clients are they providing services to in order to make a living at that rate?  Remember, they are paying their own taxes and overhead, so stop and really think about that for a minute.

How many hours is that virtual assistant going to have to work in order to make a living?  Remember, they have their own invoicing, marketing and business related tasks to attend to as well as client projects & tasks.

If you’ve stopped and thought about those two items you’ve most likely come to the conclusion that the VA in question is working round the clock, providing services to a ton of others or both in order to make ends meet.

Now think about this…

Is this overworked, over-extended person really who you want to entrust with your business projects and tasks?  Or would your rather trust your business to someone who has taken the time and effort to set their prices at a level that allows them to give your projects the attention and time they deserve as well as taking care of their own business?

You also should keep in mind that a smart, business savvy virtual assistant is going to have the experience and expertise to complete your tasks and projects more quickly with less need for corrections.  And since you’re being billed only for time on task(s) it could end up costing you less than you imagine.

I recently read an article by Ryan Lee called “The REALITY of Outsourcing and Virtual Assistants”.   He makes a great point about waiting until your business is ready for a virtual assistant rather than simply getting one because some ‘guru’ tells you to in their book(s). But he also included a few items that I felt the need to comment on, both on his post and now here in this post.

The first thing that concerned me was all the talk of hiring a virtual assistant. While technically I suppose using the word to describe finding a virtual assistant is correct usage, I feel it can cause incorrect expectations in the client/virtual assistant relationship.  Why?  Many business people ‘hire’ with the expectation that the virtual assistant is an employee rather than an independent contractor.  I’ve written here before about the differences between an employee and independent contractor and how important it is to not blur the lines.  And sadly many virtual assistants aren’t very good at pointing out where that line is or at reminding clients why that line exists.  I feel part of my service is to make sure that my clients don’t have to worry about the IRS accusing them of being my employer.  And although I’m sure I’ve lost a few potential clients because of it, part of my introduction packet explains my business policies to remind them that they are collaborating with another business professional, not employing me as part of their own business.

The second item that grabbed my attention were the sites that were given as places to find a virtual assistant.  Places like Craigslist, Guru.com and Elance.  While all of the places Mr. Lee mentions do have an abundance of virtual assistants looking for jobs, they aren’t necessarily good places to find the right VA for your business.   Sites like Guru and Elance are bidding wars, plain and simple. This means that yes, you’ll find really cheap hourly rates there, what you may not find is reliability, experience and expertise.  That’s because most highly skilled virtual assistants abandoned those sites long ago.  Regardless of what those 4-hour work week ‘gurus’ may preach, $2 an hour (or even $10 an hour) is more likely to get you headaches than a reliable assistant.  As with anything, you get what you pay for.  And seriously, getting the job done right the first time, quickly and painlessly will end up costing a lot less than having a $2 assistant do the project incorrectly, make corrections or possibly make a mistake that costs you your reputation.

So Mr. Lee was correct in advising that you make sure you’re ready before looking for a virtual assistant.  But rather than chance it on one of the sites he mentions or going into it thinking that you’re getting an employee without taxes and benefits, take the time to check out the How to Work with a Virtual Assistant Successfully series here on this blog.  Still need some tips, pointers and help building a virtual success squad for your business?  Contact me for help in eliminating the trial and error method.

I bet you thought you’d missed out on the Finding & Claiming Your Value Webinar. Surprise!  As I mentioned in my post earlier today, I just returned from two weeks in Maine due to a death in my family, 7 days of which I didn’t do anything business related at all.  Needless to say, it has jammed up my schedule a bit.

Because of that, the webinar has been rescheduled (I know, I know….again!) to give me a little time to catch up.  The webinar will now be held on August 10^th at 1pm ET.  This webinar is for you if:

• You’re a virtual service provider of any type (virtual assistants, virtual paralegals or anyone who provides services from their own home office utilizing technology to get the job done!)
• You’ve got clients but still can’t seem to make a decent profit
• You’re just starting out and have no clue about what to charge
• You’re working too many hours for clients and can’t seem to find time to market your own business.
• You’re struggling, discouraged and ready to throw in the towel on your virtual biz because you’re just not making money.
• You’re providing high level services at low-level prices because clients and potential clients balk when you quote higher rates.

Vicki Voisin (the Paralegal Mentor!) and I will be showing you all the things you need to take into consideration when setting your rates (newsflash it’s not just how much you want to make!) and how to assure clients that they are getting a high level of value no matter what your rates are. The 90 minute webinar will consist of a presentation and a chance to ask Vicki and I questions.  In reality, this is actually a high level virtual business class that could cost $150 to $700 in a traditional classroom setting. It’s a steal at the low price Vicki and I are offering it to you.

Don’t miss your chance to make a difference in your business. Attend our webinar and start charging what you’re worth!

We’re all familiar with the term ‘know it all’. It’s a rather negative term for someone who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.  But do you know what a ‘do it all’ is?  In business, a ‘do it all’ is someone who shoulders all of the work and responsibilities themselves, often resulting in the stunted growth of a business.  I know all about the ‘do it all’ because, well, I was one.

I haven’t spent 7 days without working since 2007. That’s the year I opened Clerical Advantage and since then, although I’ve taken a few trips out of town, I haven’t ever completely shut my business side down.  I may have taken a few days away from client projects, but during those times I could be found working on my own projects, videos, blog posts and brainstorming.  I enjoy working and love what I do, so it never seemed like a bad thing.

Until June 25^th.

On June 25^th my Dad passed away and suddenly the last thing on my mind was Clerical Advantage.  I found myself needing to make decisions that I never imagined because my Mom just couldn’t.  By the time I could come up for air and reconnect with my businesswoman it had been 7 days.  With over a thousand e-mails in my Inbox and thoughts of all the projects that had been put on hold I was more than overwhelmed.  Never before had the fact that my business was a one woman show been a difficultly.  But this personal tragedy made me step back and take an objective view of everything.

I came to the conclusion that I had been selling myself and my business short by being a one woman show.  I also realized that I hadn’t taken my own advice. You see part of what I do is to help others identify the areas in their business that they can hand over to a virtual assistant.  It appeared my own business had grown to the point where it was time for me to take an assessment and find someone to help.

Luckily I didn’t have to look too far.  She was sitting across the table from me, sipping coffee during my time in Maine.

Shannon J. Hilton- Virtual Administrative Specialist

Her name is Shannon Hilton (yes, she’s my daughter) and she brings her own unique blend of talents and experience to Clerical Advantage.  She’s been working with computers since she was 7 years old, learned Microsoft Office programs in middle school and has an amazing talent for writing. Coupled with her background in psychology ,high level communication skills and experience working in a title company office it adds another strong facet to what Clerical Advantage already offers clients.

Shannon will be assisting me with things like responding to requests for information, blogging for Tips from T.Marie and other tasks that will support the business side of Clerical Advantage.  She’ll also be offering some services of her own, including blogging assistance and editing services.

So say hello to Shannon and maybe even take a few moments to think about where you are in your business.  Are you trying to do it all?  Could it be that passing along some of your daily tasks could be the thing that boosts your business to the next level?  Contact us to see how we can help you.

Disclaimer: I know that I use virtual professionals (virtual assistants, virtual paralegals, etc.) as an example in a lot of my posts, like the one yesterday for example.  But to be honest, most of my posts, e-books and coaching materials apply to any small or micro-business providing services. I just happen to have the inside scoop on my own industry, and like most people, I write what I know.  So for my readers that aren’t virtual professionals, just replace that term with your own industry, because trust me, it applies there too.

Yesterday I published a post about some pretty sucky websites that I’d observed during a web search for virtual professionals.  I’m sure a cry went up from tons of people with free or template driven websites defending their choice. And I know of at least one person that complained that my website was, in their own words and spelling:

“very “busy”, bad color selection, and hard to maniplulate – very wordy and doesn’t appear “professional” like she preaches. Just my opinion… “

I’m not going to defend my choice of colors, graphics or design. All I can say is that it works for me and the services I offer and scores a 96 out of 100 on HubSpot’s website grader. (and yes, I did compare my grade to the grade of the above commenter…their site got a… oops! that would be wrong, wouldn’t it?)

My bounce rate is low, which means that people that come here, stick around and read what I have to say and most of all, I get clients from my website.   But the commenter is right in one respect, my site doesn’t look the same as other ‘professional’ sites out there.

And it’s intentional.

My business isn’t like all the others, it’s unique. I’m a huge believer in the SEO power of WordPress for business websites and of using the Headway theme, so that’s what I’ve used to create mine.  I’m a self proclaimed girly girl geek, so the colors and images reflect that.  I advocate blogging for business, and that’s why you’re here reading Tips from T.Marie. I practice what I preach and it works.  And according to most of the feedback I’ve received about the design, it does in fact convey professionalism.

But this isn’t about defending my website design.  This is about using your website to set yourself apart from the crowd. Because let’s face it, you’re not the only one out there offering what you offer.  And getting someone to choose  your services over your competition starts with getting their attention.

Perhaps what I failed to convey in yesterday’s post was this.  The business world is changing.  In years past it might have been sufficient to just have a website that looked somewhat business-like.  But now a site like that is just one in a sea of others that look just like it. Anybody with a few hours to spare can throw an ‘easy template site’ together regardless of their true experience and/or expertise.  If your website looks just like theirs, how is a client to know that you’re different? That you have that expertise and experience to offer?

And I won’t apologize for my thoughts on free websites either. If you don’t have enough faith in yourself and your business to spend money on a website, why should a client have faith in you?  I’m not pointing fingers here. I went the free website route at the very beginning, in fact, I went the free everything route. It wasn’t until I started paying for things that the clients began to call.  In fact, every time I invest in my business, my client base grows.

Every single time.

So even in the shadow of a negative review of my website, I stick by my guns.  The whole point of Tips from T. Marie is to share what I’ve learned the hard way so that you can skip the same growing pains I did and find success quicker.

How important is your website to your service provider business? Amazingly I still see some ‘so-called’ experts telling people it’s not all that important. In the recent past I’ve overheard at least two conversations in which the expert told the new business owner to ‘just get a free website or Facebook page‘. If I hadn’t been in a public place I probably would have screamed “Noooooo”, much like Obi-wan Kenobi when his mentor Qui-Gon Jinn was struck down by Darth Maul.

Your website matters. A lot.  Want proof?  Keep reading.

A friend in my legal network contacted me today looking for virtual paralegal services. I’ve made it policy to try to find reliable virtual assistants and paralegals that I can pass along when I don’t provide the services needed.  That was the case today. I gave a couple of names that are always at the top of my list but the individual was looking for someone more local. So I went looking for one of my virtual colleagues that would fit the bill.

The first one I came across was eliminated because of their website.  Landing on their home page I was greeted with the same tired,overused business stock images and lackluster copy that my brain translated into ‘blah, blah, blah’ two sentences in. Not to mention the fact that their title simply read “Home Page”.

Then there was the fact that their copy ran off the white ‘text space’ into the colored background below, which would have made it hard to read if I hadn’t already lost interest. Scrolling down I had my ‘a-ha!’ moment…there it was the infamous ‘Website Tonight’ logo. I should have known, since it had that outdated, cookie cutter look to it.

I then proceeded with my search and landed on many more sites that were all so generic I didn’t even bother reading the text on the pages. The majority of them had no pictures of the virtual paralegal/assistant,  just stale stock images. And lots of them had that ‘free website’ look to them like the one below. I didn’t even have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the telltale logo.

Then there were the names that kept popping up as a virtual paralegal in the location I needed,  but try as I might, I couldn’t find their website to learn more. Chances are, they didn’t even have one. Something that is incomprehensible in 2011.

With Google failing me, I decided to look a little deeper by visiting the forums. where I was shocked at the number of virtual paralegals and virtual legal assistants that either don’t have a website at all or don’t have it listed in their signature line on the virtual assistant forums. And going through the directories?  I clicked on website links that led me to pages like the ones below rather than business websites.

After my search I came to the conclusion that there are very few virtual assistants and virtual paralegals out there that I’d feel comfortable recommending based on their websites.  Of the 50 websites I visited today, only 4 of them left me feeling like the owner was a true professional that knew what they were doing and could provide the level of services they were advertising.

That’s 46 of you that failed miserably.

Think I’m being too tough?  Trust me, as a virtual service provider myself I’m a lot more understanding than someone that is thinking of spending money on your services. I don’t care who is telling you that your online presence and website isn’t that important, I’m telling you it’s crucial.

Your website is the single most important marketing item for your business.

So why are so many of you are putting the focus on building something free and easy  instead of showcasing your professionalism? I realize that not everyone is a geek that can build their own professional business site. If that’s the case, show how serious you are about your business and invest in having someone build it for you.

Because your website is that important.

Starting your own virtual assistant business requires more than just a desire to make money working from home.  Ask yourself the following questions and answer honestly.

Too many individuals look at becoming a VA as a way to make easy money from home, but the truth is, running your own business is anything but easy.  Your honest answers to these questions will give you a clearer idea of what it takes to become and succeed as a virtual assistant.

• Do I work well independently without the need to be told what to do or when to do it?
• Am I able to get along well with all different types of personalities, even those that many people find difficult?
• How good am I at making decisions?
• Do I have the stamina to put in the long hours and days required to run my own business?
• Am I good at planning and organizing?
• Do I have the motivation to keep going even when the responsibility of running my own business becomes difficult and stressful?
• Am I capable of the self control needed to set and meet deadlines without supervision?
• Can I remain focused and able to resist distractions?
• Do I have a good support system?
• Do I have adequate professional office experience?
• Do I have the technical expertise required?
• Am I able to market myself and my services?
• Can I handle sitting at a computer all day?
• Do I enjoy working alone?

The importance of your answers to these questions can’t be understated.  As a business owner you and only you will be responsible for all aspects of the business.  You’ll not only be providing  your clients with VA services, but you’ll also be responsible for bookkeeping, invoicing, marketing and all of the other aspects of keeping a business running and making it a success.

You might think that because you’re virtual, getting along with people isn’t as important, but remember, clients come with different personalities and so do people you network with.  Making major decisions regarding your business, as well as the way you complete client work will be something you do daily. You’ll put in more hours than you ever imagined, and need to be more organized than you ever thought.

You’ll be surprised at how much more distraction is present when working from a home office, so it will be important to be able to shut out the things around you and focus on business. You’ll need to know how to set and stick to deadlines without someone prodding you to get the work completed.

The need for adequate professional office experience can’t be emphasized enough; there are some things, such as professionalism, that can only be learned through the proper experience.  To be considered professional office experience you should have been at the very least an administrative assistant with certain amount of responsibility within the office.  This means you would have been required to make decisions and perhaps supervised others.

If you have answered the above questions honestly and still feel confident that becoming a virtual assistant is for you, you can now move forward knowing that you’ve truly put some thought into what it takes to run your own business.

For those of you who made it through the list and are convinced that virtual assistance is the career choice for you head over to the Clerical Advantage Facebook Page and grab the freebies available by simply clicking the Like button on the page.  And if you’re serious about starting a virtual assistant business the VA Survival Guide gives you the sort of start up and day to day helps for running your business that can mean the difference between success and failure of your business. And keep up on helpful business tips for VA’s by subscribing to the VA Survival Tips newsletter.

Download the .pdf  handout version of this post, which has a fill-able checklist and section for notes and questions.